Means for dispersing water from a roof over adjacent land surface



F'ELDS ,271,913

W. MEANS FOR DISPERSING WATER FROM A ROOF OVER ADJACENT LAND SURFACE Filed Jan. 15, 1964 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM F. FIELDS United States Patent 3 271.913 MEANS FOR DISPERSING WATER FROM A ROOF OVER ADJACENT LAND SURFACE William F. Fields, 418 S. Monroe St., Lincoln, Ill. Filed Jan. 15, 1964, Ser. No. 337,816 3 Qlaims. (Cl. 52.16)

This invention relates, generally, to water dispersing systems and it has particular relation to apparatus for dispersing water on a roof due to rain and melting snow and ice over the land adjacent to a wall of a building carrying the roof.

Among the objects of this invention are: To provide in a new and improved manner for dispersing water on the roof due to rain and melting snow and ice over the land adjacent to a wall of a building provided with the roof; to direct the water away from the building wall at ground level in order to prevent seepage into the basement; and to disperse the water at ground level over a relatively wide area in order to irrigate the adjacent land, prevent erosion thereof and utilize the water for a useful purpose Where no storm sewer is available to carry it off.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a view, in side elevation, of a portion of a building to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a section of a foundation gutter constructed in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the foundation gutter shown in FIG. 3.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, it will be observed that the reference character designates, generally, a portion of a building of conventional construction which is provided with a roof 11 and a house wall 12. The house wall 12 may be supported along its under side by concrete blocks 13 which, in turn, are carried by a foundation wall 14 that extends below the surface 15 of the adjacent ground. The foun dation wall 14 may comprise a basement wall.

Along the lower edge 16 of the roof 11 there is positioned an eaves gutter 17 for collecting water from the roof 11 due to rain and melting snow and ice. A downspout 18 serves to discharge the water collected by the eaves gutter 17.

It is conventional to connect the downspout 18 to a storm sewer. Alternatively it is conventional to arrange for it to discharge directly over the surface 15 of the ground. When the water is discharged into a storm sewer it is wasted. The discharge of the water from the downspout 18 directly onto the surface 15 of the ground is objectionable since it may cause erosion. In addition the discharge of the water onto the surface 15 of the ground may cause a concentration adjacent the outer surface of the foundation wall 14 which may result in seepage therethrough. A damp basement then may result.

In accordance with this invention provision is made for discharging the water from the downspout 18 into a trough 19 that extends lengthwise of a gutter section 20 that forms an integral part of a foundation gutter which is indicated, generally, at 21. The construction of the foundation gutter 21 is shown more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing. It can be constructed of concrete, either pre-cast or poured in place.

The foundation gutter 21 also includes a wall section 22 which, as shown in FIG. 2, is interposed between the lowermost concrete block 13 and the upper surface of the foundation wall 14. Its inner vertical surface 23 constitutes an extension of the inner surfaces of the concrete blocks 13 and of the foundation wall 14. It will be understood that the joints between the concrete blocks 13, the wall section 22 of the foundation gutter 21 and the foundation wall 14 are suitably sealed.

3,271,913 Patented Sept. 13, 1966 ice The outer surface 24 of the gutter section 20 slopes away from the outer wall surface 25 of the concrete blocks 13 and thus extends to a slight extent underneath the surface 15 of the ground. The inner side 26 of the trough 19 preferably is contiguous with the outer wall surface 25.

In order to disperse the water that collects in the trough 19 over the surface 15 of the ground one or more ports 27, preferably several, are provided in the surface 28 of the gutter section 20. When this construction is employed, the water that is discharged into the trough 19 by the downspout 18 from the eaves gutter 17 is dispersed over the surface 15 of the ground from many locations. Thus there is no concentration of water in any particular area.

It will be understood that the foundation gutter 21 is positioned so that it is horizontal. Also the surface 28 of the gutter section 20 is horizontal. In the event that the flow of water into the trough 19 is such that it cannot be carried away through the ports 27, then it overflows the surface 28 and flows downwardly over the sloping outer surface 24 substantially from end to end. This serves to uniformly disperse the water over the surface 15 of the ground.

What is claimed as new is:

1. Means for collecting from a roof water due to rain and melting snow and ice comprising:

(a) an eaves gutter underlying a lower edge of the roof,

(b) a foundation gutter extending at ground level underneath the building wall carrying said roof edge,

(c) said foundation gutter having a trough extending along the outer side of said building wall with the bottom of said trough below the land surface,

((1) the upper surface of said foundation gutter along the side of said trough away from said wall being located along the adjacent land surface, and

(e) a downspout extending from said eaves .gutter along the outer side of said building wall with its lower end constructed and arranged to discharge water into said trough to flow over said upper surface of said foundation gutter onto the adjacent land surface.

2. The water collecting means claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the lower end of the downspout extends into the trough in the foundation gutter.

3. The water collecting means claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the upper surface of the foundation gutter is provided with one or more ports through which water in the trough can flow onto the adjacent land surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 93,890 8/1869 Jones 6110 317,867 5/1885 Smith 52-97 372,007 10/1887 Adams 52303 X 1,170,215 2/1916 Blaha 52-302 1,521,922 1/1925 Wilson et al. 52303 X 1,562,728 1l/1925 Albrecht 52607"X 1,597,104 8/1926 ODonnell 52-16 2,147,035 2/1939 Henderson 52303 X 2,334,779 11/1943 Luff 6115 X 2,645,824 7/ 1953 Titsworth 52-303 2,800,925 7/ 1957 Tollefsen et al 6l15 X 2,898,939 8/1959 Fox 61-15 FOREIGN PATENTS 158,163 1/ 1933 Switzerland.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

M. O. WARNECKE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. MEANS FOR COLLECTING FROM A ROOF WATER DUE TO RAIN AND MELTING SNOW AND ICE COMPRISING: (A) AN EAVES GUTTER UNDERLYING A LOWER EDGE OF THE ROOF, (B) A FOUNDATION GUTTER EXTENDING AT GROUND LEVEL UNDERNEATH THE BUILDING WALL CARRYING SAID ROOF EDGE, (C) SAID FOUNDATION GUTTER HAVING A TROUGH EXTENDING ALONG THE OUTER SIDE OF SAID BUILDING WALL WITH THE BOTTOM OF SAID TROUGH BELOW THE LAND SURFACE, (D) THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FOUNDATION GUTTER ALONG THE SIDE OF SAID TROUGH AWAY FROM SAID WALL BEING LOCATED ALONG THE ADJACENT LAND SURFACE, AND (E) A DOWNSPOUT EXTENDING FROM SAID EAVES GUTTER ALONG THE OUTER OF SIDE OF SAID BUILDING WALL WITH ITS LOWER END CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO DISCHARGE WATER INTO SAID TROUGH TO FLOW OVER SAID UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FOUNDATION GUTTER INTO THE ADJACENT LAND SURFACE. 